First Family Camping Trip!

We adventured out into the great outdoors for one night of camping at Kitsap Memorial State Park last weekend.  The park itself was really nice: right by the water, a big grassy field with a playground, and lots of big tall trees.  The campground was a bit too crowded and sardine like, small spaces and lots of people.   We went with our friends the McGees who have a 2 year old (Nora) who really loves Leana and Juju.

Everything went really well except for the night.  There was lots of noise from other campers, Juju had trouble falling asleep (but then slept great), and Leana (who basically put herself to sleep inside the tent) later woke up many times crying for me, I think mostly because she kept slipping off her sleeping pad and/or out of her sleeping bag.  The girls got to eat their first S'mores (big hit), play in the water, find crabs and sea stars during low tide, and get nice and dirty.  Juju got to crawl around in some dirt and explore inside the tent, and of course he tried to eat lots of rocks, dirt and grass.   Lessons learned for next time: bring big air mattresses for everyone, pillows, more wine, and find a place with bigger campsites and/or less people...

Juju - 9 Months Old!

Julian celebrated his 9 months in Decatur last week.  He went to the doctor yesterday for his check up and is following in his sister's footsteps with the Collins' family high metabolism.  Doctor's orders are to fatten him up!

Weight: 16lb, 15oz (2%)
Height: 27.75 inches (30%)

Juju has gotten faster at moving around although he still uses the wounded soldier crawling technique.  He loves to clap and laugh/squeal at his favorite things:
1) Big Sister
2) Miodowa
3) Anything with wheels

He eats a lot, he espeically loves fruit and yogurt, and he prefers to feed himself rather than get fed, which of course is very messy and fun too.

What you can't see behind the scenes that is making Juju laugh and clap is Leana running around with her pants around her ankles, making herself trip and fall.

Decatur Island

Lightning and thunder storms, power outage, and sunshine made this a unique weekend up at Decatur.

I thought this was pretty sweet: at the Decatur Farmer's Market Grandpa Steve (aka Baba) offered to buy Leana a toy sheep.  She said no thanks and opted instead to buy a heart shaped dog biscuit which she broke in half and fed to 2 really cute Burmese mountain dogs she had just become friends with.

Remlinger Farm Adventure

We had a fun adventure to Remlinger Farm with friends Willa and Otis (we went last summer just days before Otis was born!).  So many fun things for the girls to do : farm animals to pet, pony rides, train ride, tea cups, ferris wheel, flying pumpkins, canoe ride, antique cars to drive, and a roller coaster.  All just mini-versions so really perfect for their size.  These girls were fearless, trying out every single ride, whether or not we could go with them and I'm pretty sure I was more scared on the roller coaster than Leana was.  Julian and Otis got to ride in the flying pumpkins with us, on the train and in the antique cars, so it wasn't a total bore for them either.

How cute are these two together? 

Me Hold Juju!

It only took 8.75 months, but Leana finally asked if she could hold Julian this morning.  And I even got pictures to prove it!

 He was a little unsure at first....

 But then he decided it was fun to snuggle with his big sister.